


Expecto Patronum

by Uchihas_rose



Series: Corpus alienum [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: Casting a Patronus, M/M, Nonbinary Character, Tiger & Magpie, Trans Jim Moriarty, Trans Male Character, Trans MorMor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 16:08:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29263284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Uchihas_rose/pseuds/Uchihas_rose
Summary: Because Fuck You, JKR...
Relationships: Sebastian Moran/Jim Moriarty
Series: Corpus alienum [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2154423
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	Expecto Patronum

**Author's Note:**

> Because Fuck You, JKR...

“The patronus charm is one of the most difficult pieces of magic. Especially a corporal one. Hang on, why am I telling you that? You know it already. Will you stop doing that?!”

Warm hands grabbed his wrist, stopping him from waving his wand again. Jim forced himself to look away from the wardrobe which was twitching and shaking with the boggart on its inside. He wouldn’t be facing a Dementor when the door opened, he knew. He wouldn’t need it to practice the Patronus Charm. He didn’t even know why he insisted of practicing the Patronus Charm in here, where his greatest fear was lurking in the shadows.

How was he supposed to focus on a powerful, happy memory when he was facing his greatest fear at the same time?

Maybe it would have been easier if his boggart was a Dementor. There was a way to fight a Dementor. But there was no way he could face his greatest terror and turn it into something funny. Some things were impossible to be defeated by laughter.

Sebastian let go of his hand and rested his head on his shoulder.

“Jim”, he said softly, “we can go somewhere else to practice. You don’t have to do this.”

_But I do._

Sebastian didn’t understand. He couldn’t understand. He didn’t see the boggart in the same way Jim did, but he too struggled to make his biggest fear look funny.

Sebastian’s boggart was his father and the first time they had practiced the Riddikulus Charm, they both had failed miserably.

How were they supposed to make a man like Augustus Moran look funny? Jim had suggested to put him in a dress – the real Augustus Moran would have hated that – but when they had tried, there was nothing funny about it and Jim’s throat had tightened.

There had been no laughter to banish Sebastian’s boggart, no matter how hard they tried.

They had made him talk in a high-pitched voice, but Augustus’s insults had just sounded worse.

They had made him trip over his shoelaces, but Sebastian had flinched under the thunderous Clang which made Boggart-Augustus drop down on the floor and the laughter had been caught in Jim’s throat. There had been too much fear in Sebastian’s eyes, even though he tried to hide it.

After that, they hadn’t talked about the boggart anymore for a long time. Not until Jim had decided to share his biggest fear with Sebastian.

The week before he turned eleven, Jim had sent his family’s owl to Hogwarts with a letter and had been informed that there wouldn’t be an issue; the Quill had already corrected its mistake.

He had entered Hogwarts as a boy. It had been “Moriarty, James”, not “Moriarty, Eileen” when he had put the Sorting Hat on and when the hat had shouted “Slytherin” and the green and silver wave of students welcomed him like any other student to their house, Sebastian already grinning at him from across the table.

They found the Boggart in their second year. By then, Jim had already known the shape the Boggart would take when it faced Sebastian and he knew what it’d show him as his own fear. Of course, Sebastian had asked eventually why Jim wouldn’t face the Boggart as well, but Jim had just shook his head. Sebastian had respected his decision, just nodding quietly and stroked his fingers in comfort, even though he had still been shaking himself.

It had taken him another year until Jim was ready to face the Boggart. To let Sebastian in on his secret. No one knew and why should they? For everyone at Hogwarts he was Mr Moriarty. They didn’t know anything else.

He remembered Sebastian’s face when he had seen the truth. The fear Jim was facing every day of his life and when Sebastian had realised what Jim’s fear meant, he had been quiet too and just stared at the boggart, with its obviously female body and Jim’s face.

“This isn’t you”, Sebastian had whispered when Jim had collapsed on the ground, shaking, and pointed at the boggart, “do you hear me? It’s not who you are.”

Jim had believed him, but how was he supposed to make it look funny? What could he possibly do to make this boggart funny?

To distract themselves from the boggarts they were both unable to beat for now, Sebastian had suggested to try an learn another spell and, since Jim loved a challenge, he had picked the Patronus Charm. Especially once he had learnt that Sherlock was trying to learn it too and Jim’s ego didn’t allow himself to be any worse than Sherlock – especially not when they could beat off a boggart.

Therefore, Jim had decided that he had to learn the Patronus Charm before Sherlock and Sebastian, although the rivalry between the two was far beyond Gryffindor and Slytherin's usual competitions, had agreed to help Jim in doing so.

And now, whenever they had the chance to so, they sneaked into empty classrooms and practiced. Rather, they sneaked into the one specific classroom where the boggart for their Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons was kept.

“Jim, be reasonable. How can you expect to properly focus on your happiest memory if you know your biggest fear is right in the corner?”, Sebastian tried, when Jim stayed quiet, “it’s no surprise it doesn’t work – you can’t focus properly because the boggart messes with your mind. Let’s go somewhere else. Please.”

“No”, Jim vehemently shook his head, determination glistening in his eyes “it has to be here. The boggart needs to be here. I need to be able to produce a Patronus despite it.”

Sebastian sighed deeply. “Jim, please. Just until you managed to produce one. You wouldn’t be practicing it with an actual Dementor, would you? We can go to the lake and practice there.”

“I don’t want anyone to know what we’re doing.”

He didn’t want anyone to see his failing attempts at everything. First the boggart, now the Patronus... Sherlock would laugh if they’d know. Everyone would laugh.

Plus, Sebastian was one to talk. He was able to produce a Patronus, even though it was just some silvery mist with not even a vague form, but that was more than Jim could do.

Not even a sliver of silver appeared when Jim tried himself on a Patronus, frustrating him immensely.

If rumours were true, Sherlock’s Patronus even was corporal by now, an otter, of course. Jim hadn’t been surprised to find out about that, but he had felt jealousy gnaw inside him.

Why could Sherlock do it and he couldn’t? How were they better than him? What made Sherlock able to produce a corporal Patronus while Jim was unable to even cast the spell?

“We can go and practice in the Forbidden Forest. No one would see us there. It’d be peaceful and a lot easier”, Sebastian tried again, “please. Just... Let us get out of here.”

Jim ignored Sebastian’s words.

Think of something happy. Come on, it can’t be that difficult...

His gaze fell on Sebastian and suddenly he cursed himself. How could he have missed it? It was right in front of his nose, it had been the whole time!

He inhaled and exhaled deeply.

“Let me try one more time”, he said, “I think this time, I got a memory that’s strong enough.”

He had been too consumed by his fear the whole to realise that it actually was the happiest memory he was ever going to have, had beaten himself up too much for being unable to conjure a spell that made his boggart less frightful that he hadn’t noticed it.

He raised his wand.

“Expecto Patronum”, he said, his voice steady and calm.

Something came bursting from his wand this time, something huge, with four paws and stripes.

The tiger landed soft-pawed on the ground, turning around to look at them. Its silvery tongue licked slowly around the muzzle.

Jim heard Sebastian next to draw a sharp breath and saw him look with just as much awe as the tiger as Jim did.

“It’s beautiful”, Sebastian whispered, before he grabbed Jim by the hips, lifted him up and spun him around, laughing.

“You did it! You really did it, Jim!”

Jim wrapped his arms around Sebastian’s neck, smiling to himself. He felt happy, as happy as he had never felt before.

_He had done it. He had conjured an actual Patronus!_

Eventually, Sebastian let him down on his own feet again, grinning so happily as if he had just conjured a Patronus himself.

“This was awesome!”, he laughed, watching the huge silver cat disappear slowly into thin air, “really, really awesome!”

Jim nodded, turning his gaze towards the desk in the corner of the room.

Sebastian followed it with his own, opening his mouth to say something, but Jim had already stepped forward. With a flicker of his wand he unlocked the drawer and waited.

She came out of the drawer just a moment later, the full, red lips shiny with make-up, flickering her black hair over her shoulder, before squeezing her breasts and blowing him a kiss.

Jim’s hand shook and he felt bile rising up his throat.

_This isn’t you. This isn’t you._

He bit his lip, took another deep breath.

“Riddikulus!”, he barked.

The boggart froze mid-kiss, its limbs becoming stiff and off-shaped, the mouth forming an O, the breasts pointing weirdly – it had turned into a blow-up doll.

Sebastian’s laughter filled the whole classroom and eventually, Jim himself started to chuckle.

The boggart quickly fled into the dark safety of the desk again, but neither Jim nor Sebastian stopped laughing.

When Sebastian, still shaking with laughter, wrapped his arms around him, it felt only natural to kiss him.

Sebastian froze for a moment, starring at Jim, before the smile returned to his lips and he raised his wand.

“Expecto Patronum”, he whispered.

Something silver soared up around them, flying around their heads and they looked up to see what it was.

_A magpie._

Jim smiled, wrapped his arms around Sebastian’s neck and kissed him again.


End file.
